Dr Foula Sozo - Researcher Profile

Dr Foula Sozo

Address

Dept of Anatomy & Developmental Biology
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Clayton

Contact Details

Email: Foula.Sozo@monash.edu


Biography

Foula is a Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences at Monash University. She works in the Respiratory Development and Programming Group, which is led by Prof Richard Harding. The group’s main interests include understanding how the lungs develop, and how alterations in the intrauterine and early postnatal environment can affect lung development to increase the risk of poor lung function and respiratory disease later in life. A major research program within the group is to understand the effects of preterm birth on critical organ development and to develop strategies to improve outcomes for infants born preterm.

The Respiratory Development and Programming Group’s specific research themes include:

  •  Mechanisms involved in the male disadvantage in respiratory outcome following preterm birth.
  •  Ventilator-induced and hyperoxia-induced lung injury and repair in the developing lung.
  • Mechanisms underlying the effects of fetal and postnatal growth restriction on adult lung structure and function.
  • Influence of in utero alcohol exposure on fetal development and long-term outcomes.
  • Effects of exposure to intra-uterine inflammation on the structure of the lung and brain.
  • Protecting the fetal and newborn brain from injury caused by hypoxia and/or inflammation.
  • Effects of caffeine on the immature brain. 

Foula joined the Respiratory Development and Programming Group in 2007. She completed her PhD in 2007 in the Department of Physiology at Monash University. Her PhD studies focussed on identifying and characterizing genes that regulate the growth and maturation of the fetal lung.

She has experience using sheep and mice as animal models for her studies and has specific expertise in fetal physiology, histology, immunohistochemistry, and a range of biochemical and molecular techniques. She is also involved in the supervision of post-graduate and undergraduate research students, and teaching within the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology's second and third year undergraduate units. 

Related Links:

Keywords

lung development, fetal physiology, developmental origins of health and disease, preterm birth

Qualifications

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Institution: Monash University
Year awarded: 2007
BACHELOR OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE
Institution: Monash University
Year awarded: 2002
BACHELOR OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE HONS
Institution: Monash University
Year awarded: 2002

Publications

Journal Articles

O'Reilly, M., Sozo, F., Harding, R., 2013, The impact of preterm birth and bronchopulmonary dysplasia on the developing lung: long-term consequences for respiratory health, Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology [E], vol E-pub, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Australia, pp. 1-25.

Kenna, K.R., Sozo, F., De Matteo, R.M., Hanita, T., Gray, S.P., Tare, M., Moritz, K.M., Bertram, J.F., Black, M.J., Brien, J.F., Parkington, H.C., Walker, D.W., Harding, R., 2012, Alcohol exposure during late gestation: multiple developmental outcomes in sheep, Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease [P], vol 3, issue 4, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 224-236.

Atik, A.A., Sozo, F., Orgeig, S., Suri, L., Hanita, T., Harding, R., De Matteo, R.M., 2012, Long-term pulmonary effects of intrauterine exposure to endotoxin following preterm birth in sheep, Reproductive Sciences [P], vol 19, issue 12, Sage Publications, Inc., USA, pp. 1352-1364.

Ishak, N., Hanita, T., Sozo, F., Maritz, G.S., Harding, R., De Matteo, R.M., 2012, Sex differences in cardiorespiratory transition and surfactant composition following preterm birth in sheep, American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology [E], vol 303, issue 7, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. R778-R789.

Kenna, K., De Matteo, R., Hanita, T., Rees, S., Sozo, F., Stokes, V., Walker, D., Bocking, A., Brien, J., Harding, R., 2011, Daily ethanol exposure during late ovine pregnancy: Physiological effects in the mother and fetus in the apparent absence of overt fetal cerebral dysmorphology, American Journal Of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative And Comparative Physiology [P], vol 301, issue 4, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. R926-R936.

McDougall, A., Hooper, S., Zahra, V., Sozo, F., Lo, C., Cole, T., Doran, T., Wallace, M., 2011, The oncogene Trop2 regulates fetal lung cell proliferation, American Journal Of Physiology-Lung Cellular And Molecular Physiology [P], vol 301, issue 4, American Physiological Society, United States, pp. L478-L489.

Goh, J.M., Bensley, J.G., Kenna, K.R., Sozo, F., Bocking, A.D., Brien, J.F., Walker, D.W., Harding, R., Black, M.J., 2010, Alcohol exposure during late gestation adversely affects myocardial development with implications for postnatal cardiac function, American Journal Of Physiology-Heart And Circulator..., vol 300, issue 2, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. H645-H651.

Sozo, F., Vela, M., Stokes, V., Kenna, K.R., Meikle, P.J., De Matteo, R.M., Walker, D.W., Brien, J.F., Bocking, A.D., Harding, R.L., 2010, Effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on the lungs of postnatal lambs, American Journal Of Physiology-Lung Cellular And Molecular Physiology [P], vol 300, issue 1, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. L139-L147.

Schulzke, S.M., Polglase, G.R., Sozo, F., Pillow, J.J., 2009, Feasibility and short-term effects of biphasic positive airway pressure versus assist-control ventilation in preterm lambs, Pediatric Research [P], vol 66, issue 6, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, USA, pp. 665-670.

O'Reilly, M., Hooper, S.B., Allison, B.J., Flecknoe, S.J., Snibson, K., Harding, R., Sozo, F., 2009, Persistent bronchiolar remodeling following brief ventilation of the very immature ovine lung, American Journal Of Physiology-Lung Cellular And M..., vol 297, issue 5, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. L992-L1001.

Sozo, F., O'Day, L.D., Maritz, G., Kenna, K.R., Stacy, V., Brew, N., Walker, D.W., Bocking, A.D., Brien, J.F., Harding, R., 2009, Repeated ethanol exposure during late gestation alters the maturation and innate immune status of the ovine fetal lung, American Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol 296, American Physiological Society, United States, pp. 1-38.

Stacy, V., De Matteo, R.M., Brew, N., Sozo, F., Probyn, M.E., Harding, R., Black, M.J., 2009, The influence of naturally occuring differences in birthweight on ventricular cardiomyocyte number in sheep, The Anatomical Record, vol 292, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., United States, pp. 29-37.

Sozo, F., Hooper, S.B., Wallace, M.J., 2007, Thrombospondin-1 expression and localization in the developing ovine lung, Journal of Physiology-London, vol 584, issue Pt 2, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford England UK, pp. 625-635.

Sozo, F., Wallace, M.J., Hanna, M., Flecknoe, S.J., Cock, M.L., Maritz, G., Harding, R., Hooper, S.B., 2006, Alveolar epithelial cell differentiation and surfactant protein expression after mild preterm birth in sheep, Pediatric Research, vol 59, issue 1, Int. Pediartric Research Foundation, Inc., Baltimore USA, pp. 151-156.

Sozo, F., Wallace, M.J., Zahra, V.A., Filby, C.E., Hooper, S.B., 2006, Gene expression profiling during increased fetal lung expansion identifies genes likely to regulate development of the distal airways, Physiological Genomics, vol 24, issue 2, American Physiological Society, Bethesda USA, pp. 105-113.

Wallace, M.J., Thiel, A.M., Lines, A.M., Polglase, G., Sozo, F., Hooper, S.B., 2006, Role of platelet-derived growth factor-B, vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-II, mitogen-activated protein kinase and transforming growth factor-beta1 in expansion-induced lung growth in fetal sheep, Reproduction, Fertility and Development, vol 18, issue 6, CSIRO, Australia, pp. 655-665.

Filby, C.E., Hooper, S.B., Sozo, F., Zahra, V.A., Flecknoe, S.J., Wallace, M.J., 2006, VDUP1: A potential mediator of expansion-induced lung growth and epithelial cell differentiation in the ovine fetus, American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, vol 290, issue 2, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. L250-L258.

Cock, M.L., Hanna, M., Sozo, F., Wallace, M.J., Yawno, T., Suzuki, K., Maritz, G.S., Hooper, S.B., Harding, R., 2005, Pulmonary function structure following mild preterm birth in lambs, Pediatric Pulmonology, vol 40, issue 4, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., USA, pp. 336-348.

Teaching Commitment

DEV2022: Principles of Organ & Body Design

DEV3022: Developmental Pathways to Health and Disease

DEV3990: Research in Action

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Programming effects of neonatal exposure to hyperoxic gas on the developing airways.
Supervisors:
Harding, R (Joint), Sozo, F (Joint-co).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
What are the mechanisms responsible for the male disadvantage in cardio-respiratory function following preterm birth?.
Supervisors:
De Matteo, R (Joint-co), Sozo, F (Joint), Hooper, S (Associate).

Completed Supervision

Student:
O'Reilly, M.
Program of Study:
The effects of neonatal inhalation of hyperoxic gas on airway development and lung function in later life. (PHD) 2012.
Supervisors:
Harding, R (Joint-Co), Sozo, F (Joint).